Characterized by its long spur (this image consists of two photographs stitched together), Angraecum is a genus of orchids endemic to Madagascar. In 1862, Charles Darwin discussed Angraecum sesquipedale as an example of a mutualistic plant-insect relationship, surmising that a moth with a suitably long proboscis was its pollinator (such a moth, Xanthopan morganii praedicta, would be identified in 1903 and first observed extracting nectar in 1992, providing confirmation of the predictive power of the theory of evolution). The effects of this symbiosis, curiously, extend to the olfactory domain. With moths as its pollinators, Angraecum releases at night a delightful if overwhelming fragrance; by contrast, Bulbophyllum, pollinated by flies, seeks to attract them with a pungent smell resembling that of rotting meat.
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Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1885, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Janner 885”
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Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1885, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Janner 885”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni,” added in pencil “Costa Rica”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1886, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “April 886”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni”
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Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, signed “KBM”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 31.5 × 24 cm, with additional sheet of thin paper measuring 28.5 × 24 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 1998, 14 x 17 in., drawing pen, brush, and ink on Denril Multi-media film. Loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 2015, 14 3/4 x 19 in., drawing, pen, brush, and ink on Denril Multi-media film. On loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 1992, 11 1/2 × 15 3/8 in., drawing, pen and ink on Cronaflex Drafting film. Loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2004, 50.8 x 50.8 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2016, 33.8 x 76.2 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2004, 32.5 x 76.2 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2019, 45.7 × 61 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2017, 33.3 × 40.6 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2018, 24.8 × 28.6 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao